Advice on steel selection for kitchen knives

samuraistuart said:
I'm going to have to purchase the steel of choice soon. I'm leaning towards the 15n20. Available thin, simple heat treat, and that bit of nickel for "purty" factor. If ONLY Hitachi would open up a distributor here in the states. Wait......what was that? What did you tell me a few days ago, Aldo? Really? Holy heat treat, Batman, that would be awesome!
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Chuck is correct. AEBL will get sharper than the others.
 
I have found that SG2 from Takefu steel seems to have as fine a grain and definately holds its edge longer and is not hard to sharpen. heat treat is relatively simple.
 
I absolutely love AEB-L. I have a couple Richmond knives in it and they're great. In the end I very much prefer my Takeda blades in Aogami Super Blue. With those I can fold a piece of paper in half, rest the crease over the blade, blow on it and have two pieces of paper floating to the floor. Wow, wow, wow does AS hold a crazy sharp edge very well.
Also, AEB-L is one of the steels used in Devin Thomas's stainless damascus steel and I love the edge properties of that steel as well.
 
Personally, I use 1095 for the chef knives I occasionally make. I've also made a paring knife out of some W2.
 
justsomedude said:
I absolutely love AEB-L. I have a couple Richmond knives in it and they're great. In the end I very much prefer my Takeda blades in Aogami Super Blue. With those I can fold a piece of paper in half, rest the crease over the blade, blow on it and have two pieces of paper floating to the floor. Wow, wow, wow does AS hold a crazy sharp edge very well.
Also, AEB-L is one of the steels used in Devin Thomas's stainless damascus steel and I love the edge properties of that steel as well.
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Reminds me of this old samurai sword legend. Maybe Masamune? I'm not sure. Legend says his swords could be placed vertically in a brook with the edge upstream. As a leaf would float along the water and encounter the edge of Masamune's sword, it would be severed in half!
 
Don Hanson III said:
Never heard of that one, Bill. But I'm not into kitchen knives like you are...
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Hey Don, I got some and tried it last may. the first knife I made from it I tested quite extensively. I cut better than AEBL that I have used an when broken ihad a fine gray satin apperance. edge flexed 15 times per side first right then left back and forth. 350 slicing cuts on hemp rope. then three strokes per side on a ceramic rod brought it right back to hair popping sharp.

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Most of the knives in my kitchen are 15n20, takes and holds a great edge and I love it....BUT...

I've never heard it said that it resists corrosion- I haven't personally done any kind of controlled test, but it rusts pretty enthusiastically if it's not treated right.
Thought the same thing when I first used it, that the nickel would help keep the rust away, but that hasn't been my experience.
 
2% nickel won't stop rust.

It takes 12% or more of chromium to be a stainless steel. The 2% nickel in 15N20 helps increases the toughness at room temperature. It takes about 8% nickel, usually in combination with a lot of chromium, to increase oxidation resistance. Some nickel/chromium steels have over 30% alloy content.
 
Glad to hear there are folks out there still using carbon steel. I am no connoisseur of all the various steel types but have found that vintage European (German, Swedish and British especially) carbon steel knives sharpen better and stay sharp longer than any of the stainless belt and kitchen knives I've ever had. Aside from the utility knives in my automotive toolbox and fishing tacklebox everything I use is carbon steel. I've gotten the rest of my family (father/sisters/cousins/friends) on to Japanese laminated knives but the lack of a quillion/bolster for safety and strength has always bothered me.
I will be following this thread with interest.
 
My first choice for kitchen knives is 52100 but I have customers that want stainless so i have been searching for a stainless that is reasonably easy to sharpen holds a great edge and dosen't require too much fusing around to heat treat. here are the specs on SG 2.

http://www.alphaknifesupply.com/zdata-bladesteelS-SG2.htm

in the past I have used aebl and been very happy but this steel seems to take a finer edge and hold it longer.
 
elementfe said:
Most of the knives in my kitchen are 15n20, takes and holds a great edge and I love it....BUT...

I've never heard it said that it resists corrosion- I haven't personally done any kind of controlled test, but it rusts pretty enthusiastically if it's not treated right.
Thought the same thing when I first used it, that the nickel would help keep the rust away, but that hasn't been my experience.
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Concerning the nickel in 15n20....I know it isn't going to make it stainless, or even offer serious corrosion resistance. But I have "heard" that it will delay the onset of corrosion maybe just long enough to allow those unaccustomed to maintaining a carbon knife some leeway.
 
samuraistuart said:
Concerning the nickel in 15n20....I know it isn't going to make it stainless, or even offer serious corrosion resistance. But I have "heard" that it will delay the onset of corrosion maybe just long enough to allow those unaccustomed to maintaining a carbon knife some leeway.
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Nope cut a nice med rare steak and it turns blue, leave it on the counter wet for 10-15 minutes and it starts to rust. if it is buffed to a high polish you MIGHT extend the rust time to 20min.
 
My experience suggests 15n20 is no better than O1 in terms of corrosion and pitting.
 
bladsmth said:
. . . I am doing some comparison blades in AEBL and CPM-S35VN. I plan on making the same blades in both steels and seeing if I can tell the difference . . .
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I'll be interested to see your results of this comparison, Stacy. I've used AEB-L for all of my kitchen knives on Chuck Bybee's recommendation and I've grown very fond of the steel.
 
Bill Burke said:
Nope cut a nice med rare steak and it turns blue, leave it on the counter wet for 10-15 minutes and it starts to rust. if it is buffed to a high polish you MIGHT extend the rust time to 20min.
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And to reply to Willie71 also....

This is exactly why I brought up the thread. Because I have read on this forum, and others, that the nickel content does indeed delay, to some small extent, the corrision on a knife. I did a search "15n20 for kitchen knives", and read posts that state the nickel does help, or that it SEEMED to help. If it does NOTHING, if it doesn't even offer a more "shiny" finish (real technical here, huh?), I'll use a steel with better edge holding.....52100.
 
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